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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Summer White Bean and Quinoa Salad

By the time midsummer heat rolls around, I’m craving light and fresh dishes. And I’m in luck, because right now in the US we’re enjoying an abundance of locally grown vegetables (including some from our own backyards). Tomatoes and cucumbers are my favorites — for a few short weeks in summer, their flavors are at a peak. With the hot weather we typically face at this time of the year, they’re about all I want to eat.

But of course we need a bit more than that, so it’s time for main-course bean and/or grain salads loaded up with ripe summer veggies. Today’s salad is really a meal in itself, although you may want to add some bread — and if you’re feeling indulgent, a nice glass of wine.

You’ll probably have some leftovers, which will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Pack them in small containers, and you can brown bag them in lunches for the next day.

So this recipe gives you a terrific-tasting, exceptionally healthy main-course salad. And you can enjoy it again for lunch the next day. Totally keen — or is that quin?

Recipe: Summer White Bean and Quinoa Salad

You can easily change this recipe around to suit your own taste. I often substitute ingredients (instead of white beans I use lima beans, for example, or maybe even pintos). I also alter quantities depending on what I have on hand — and what kind of flavor profile I’m drawn to on that particular day. So even though I provide specific ingredients and quantities, consider this more a template than a recipe, and use it to create your own dish. (But if you’ve never made this type of salad before, it’s a good idea to make it more or less as-is the first time through so you get an intuitive idea of how these salads work.)

IMO you want the flavor and fragrance of fresh herbs in this dish. I include parsley, which tends to be welcome in almost any salad. I also include fresh dill, partly because its flavor works in this recipe, and partly because I have an abundance growing in my garden right now. But feel free to substitute any fresh herb that appeals to you (fresh thyme, for example, combines beautifully with beans).

If you don’t have access to fresh herbs, dried ones make an acceptable substitute. But their flavor is concentrated, so use much less. When substituting dried herbs for fresh, I usually start with about a quarter of the amount called for in the recipe (sometimes a bit less). It’s easy enough to taste the salad and add more if necessary (but impossible to remove dried herbs once they’re mixed in).

Prep time for this salad is 20 to 30 minutes. You can serve it immediately (it’s good at room temperature) or let it chill for an hour or so.

This recipe makes enough for at least 4 hearty main-course servings. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2 or 3 days (they’re safe to eat after that, but the flavor deteriorates).

black pepper to taste (freshly ground only, please; a good couple of healthy pinches for me)

garnish of dill or parsley leaves (optional)

Procedure

The quinoa takes 10 to 15 minutes to cook, so start with that first. Cook ½ cup of quinoa according to package instructions. Generally, you use twice as much water as quinoa (so 1 cup of water in this case) and cook until all the water is absorbed. You can salt the cooking water or not, as you prefer. Once the quinoa is cooked, if you’re not ready to add it to the salad yet, set aside.

Meanwhile, open the cans of beans, drain, and rinse (I usually dump the beans into a strainer over the sink to make this easier). Add the beans to a medium or large bowl (large enough to hold the finished salad).

Wash the tomatoes. If using grape or cherry tomatoes, I usually cut in them half (although you can keep them whole, if you prefer). If using larger tomatoes, I always cut into chunks (and try to lose some of the seeds and watery pulp along the way — these don’t add anything to the salad). Add the tomatoes to the beans.

Peel the cucumbers. Cut in half lengthwise, and using a dessert spoon, scoop out the seeds. Then cut the cucumber halves into a shape that pleases you — half moons, for example. For this salad, I usually cut the cuke halves lengthwise in pieces a bit larger than a quarter-inch, then cut crosswise into dice. Add the cucumbers to the beans and tomatoes.

Peel the onion and cut into dice of about ¼-inch. I typically use about ½ an onion (maybe ½ cup), but use as much as tastes good to you. Add the onion to the bowl with the beans and other ingredients.

Wash and dry the parsley. Pick off the leaves (discarding the stems) and mince. Add the parsley to the bowl with the beans and other ingredients.

Wash, dry, and mince the dill. Add to the bowl with the beans and other ingredients.

The quinoa should be cooked by this time. Let it cool a bit (more or less to room temperature, although a bit warmer is OK; you can toss with a fork to help cool it), then add the quinoa to the bowl with the beans and other ingredients.

Toss all the ingredients together to mix, then start adding the extra virgin olive oil. Don’t add it all at once! You really don’t know how much you’re going to need. I usually start with about 3 tablespoons, toss with the ingredients, then taste. And only then do I add more if necessary. How to tell if you have enough? You want a thin – THIN – coat of olive oil on everything in the bowl, but when you take a bite, you should taste ingredients first, olive oil second.

When you’ve added sufficient olive oil, add the lemon juice or wine vinegar. Again, start with about half of what you think you’ll need, taste, and add more if necessary.

Add salt and pepper to taste, and toss to incorporate. (Alternatively, you can add these after you’ve added the oil and before you add the lemon juice.)

Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve. A garnish of dill or parsley leaves is a nice touch.

Notes

You can use any kind of white bean that you like in this salad. I generally use Great Northerns because they’re available, usually of decent quality, and inexpensive. Cannellini beans make an excellent substitute. I like navy beans a bit less in this salad, but they’ll work too.

The recipe specifies canned beans because they’re easy to use and take less time than cooking your own dried beans. I actually prefer to cook the beans myself when I’m making this salad, but you have to plan ahead. So I often cook up a pound or two of beans and store them in the refrigerator, for use in recipes. They freeze well too — just freeze them in some of their cooking liquid.

Almost any kind of dried beans will work in this recipe. Kidney beans work quite well, as do black-eyed peas.

You can also substitute almost any grain for quinoa. Rice is an obvious choice, as is a small pasta shape, like orzo. But there’s a whole world of grains out there, including barley, bulgur, and wild rice — almost any of them will work.

I like the combo of beans and grain in this salad, but you could use just one or the other if you prefer. In that case, you’ll need to adjust quantities.

We used to think that we had to consume beans along with a grain at the same meal in order to get the benefit of a “complete” protein. Today, most scientists have concluded eating them together isn’t necessary. I like to combine them simply because they taste so good together!

Quinoa has become deservedly popular over the past decade because it’s highly nutritional and gluten free (it isn’t a true cereal grain because it isn’t part of the grass family; rather, it belongs to the chenopod family, a pseudocereal). Quinoa has more fat than most cereals, including small amounts of omega-3 fatty acid.

Because of its popularity, demand for quinoa has exploded — as has its price. Alas, the price probably won’t drop anytime soon. In a recent Washington Post article, Lydia DePillis explains that quinoa will likely remain in short supply because although the world’s major producers (Peru and Bolivia) are increasing output, demand is growing even faster. And though quinoa can be grown in North America, the market isn’t yet large enough to tempt farmers to plant it here — especially since it can be a difficult crop to cultivate. Bummer.

110 comments:

I good salad such as your white bean and quinoa salad is always a must in my family, especially when we organize our bbq and grilling sessions. The best part in your recipe is that it's healthy and nutritious.

I love adding quinoa to my salads as you know. I think it bulks everything up nicely without making it too heavy. I am happy to see red onions in the salad because I love them but not many people add onions to their salads lately.Wonderful salad John, I like the beans too. Thanks!

Howdy John , can't stop drooling , love quinoa and the red onion in salads is always the 'cats' meow' . What a wonderful lite side dish with dinner ... or maybe you can just have the salad {passing my plate}. :)

These are my favorite sorts of dinners in the summer as well. With all the heat, it's so nice to have a refreshing and flavorful salad like this one! I love quinoa and white beans, so this is a winner in my books:)

This is my kind of summer salad - flavorful, healthy, light-enough, but also hearty-enough. One of the reasons I love the summer, despite its unbearable heat, is the produce. The flavors for so many vegetables and fruits are at their peak. I can see me and my family eating this salad any day of the week. Great recipe John!

I love versatile recipes like this one where you can use pretty much whatever you have on hand. Haven't cooked much with quinoa, but I do have some in the pantry. Just picked my first cucumber, have some pinto beans in the fridge and yellow tomatoes on the countertop. I think I'm there! Thanks for sharing this great summer salad!

Hi Suzanne, I know what you mean about a slight bitterness with quinoa, but I'm OK with it (and you don't notice it in this salad; or at least I don't). It is awfully expensive, though, compared to rice, and that works quite well in this recipe. Thanks for the comment.

We have lots of salad suppers around here in the summer too, but often tire of the usual rotation. Thanks for giving me a new one to add to the list. Here in Colorado we are still waiting for our tomatoes to ripen. I was hoping for some from the farmers' market but even our local one was postponed for a week. I'll have to be patient. Beautiful recipe and photos!

Hi Karen, we're seeing local tomatoes, but at the moment the cherry and grape tomatoes have the best flavor, IMO. My backyard tomatoes are still a few weeks away, alas - I got them in rather late this year. Thanks for the comment.

This does sound like a great salad, John, especially for those torrid days looming in our not so distant future. I would definitely split the tomatoes, no matter their size. I find the tomato juices add so much to an oil & vinegar-based dressing. Coincidentally, while I was reading your post, a television show featured a quinoa salad with white beans. Though the ingredients varied, the results were the same: a healthy, nutritious salad ready in minutes. Thanks for sharing another great recipe that's sure to grace a number of tables this Summer.

Hi John, this sort of salad is so wonderful in summer! And tomatoes make anything better! Quinoa and beans combine so well, so I'm sure there are numerous salads that pair the two (I guess quinoa is one of the new "IT" foods at the moment, isn't it?). Thanks for the comment.

Quinoa salads are my favorite light dinners. I also love the abundance of produce right now. Just picked up some locally grown cucumbers, tomatoes, and parsley. In the summer, the produce is so good, sometimes it's almost unbelievable.

Hi Laura, we really do get spoiled with summer produce, don't we? Too bad in a way, because there's so much of it we don't get to eat as much of every variety as I'd like. But it's a good problem to have! Thanks for the comment.

Wonderful salad John! I adore quinoa and white beans, but I've never eaten them together. I'm not sure why, as just looking at this salad makes me want to try the combination! I love the simplicity of the dressing. That's all you need when you have such gorgeous produce! Thanks for the inspiration! :)

Before I forget, thanks for the tip on freezing the beans. I have tried it several times and they don't seem to freeze well unless I have leftover bean soup. Now I know the reason why, liquid!

As for that salad, I must admit, I don't usually join the latest food "fads" however, I for one am delighted to see more Quinoa available (although now it looks like it will once again become scarce) I discovered Quinoa a long time ago as a "hippie" cook. Problem was I could only find it in a health food store.

This salad is just so versatile. I think I would love to try it with Cannellini!

Hi Louise, freezing beans in liquid really makes a difference. Quinoa was largely unknown (and hard to find) for years, but now it's everywhere. Deservedly so, because it has great flavor and a wonderful nutritional profile. Staying cool has been a problem lately (it's hot!) but we're trying. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Hi Hannah, we cook a lot of dried beans in the winter (frequently in soup), but they're wonderful in the summer, too - maybe even better, because we do feel like eater lighter, and they make a great alternative to meat. Thanks for the kind words, and comment.

Hi Bill, we love a tomato and cucumber salad too! In fact this salad came about because we were trying to figure out how to make a main course salad out of tomatoes and cukes. ;-) Thanks for the comment.

Love the salad idea,although the cucumber is out because of indigestion. Everyone should really try other grains than just the quinoa, try cous-cous for example. I know its trendy to use the quinoa, but its wreaking havoc on the diets people of Peru and Bolivia. So much quinoa is being diverted to other countries the indigenous people who have consumed quinoa for centuries can't afford to buy it.

Hi Pete, good points! And any grain Although if you read the Washington Post article I linked to, you'll note that Peru and Bolivia have greatly increased (and are continuing to increase) their quinoa production, and its popularity has enabled them to charge higher export prices, helping their economies. Still, there are loads of other grains out there that people don't use enough. Couscous is a great one, although its gluten content causes problems for some people. Barley gets my vote for a great tasting ingredient that's totally underused. Thanks for the comment.

I am with you. When it is hot outside, you can't beat a salad. Your quinoa and white bean salad is amazing with all those layers of flavor. I am all out of quinoa now but I bookmarking this to try as soon as I get some